BBC gender correspondent tried to block coverage of trans criticism

The BBC’s “gender and identity correspondent” sought to block coverage of a campaign group aiming to protect women-only spaces, The Telegraph can reveal.

Megha Mohan, who has held the specialist role since 2018, emailed a co-worker raising concerns about their plans to film a debate by the group Woman’s Place UK.

Apparently women are not part of the genner ann idenniny beat. I guess only men have genner ann idenniny?

In the email – sent months after she started her role – Ms Mohan wrote: “There’s some concern from LGBT+ about giving this group a platform, they are seen as a more extreme organisation that we would be legitimizing (sic).”

In a follow-up email, she added: “A couple of LGBT contacts have told me about Woman’s Place and called them transphobes in the past.”

Oh well then. There’s no more to be said. Thus the wise decisions of the BBC are formed. A couple of people who are lesbians and gay men and bisexual and trans called Woman’s Place transphobes. Who could possibly ignore that as meaningless gossip from random unknown parties?

Ms Mohan’s intervention can be revealed this week as The Telegraph published revelations from a leaked internal BBC memo that details numerous instances of apparent bias at the broadcaster.

The 8,000-word letter was sent to members of the BBC board by Michael Prescott, a former standards adviser. He wrote of his “despair at inaction by the BBC executive” over widespread evidence of bias.

…

The leaked dossier includes claims that its trans coverage was biased towards stories “celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity”.

It claims the BBC’s trans coverage is subject to “effective censorship” by specialist LGBT reporters who refuse to cover gender-critical stories.

Oh that kind of specialist – the kind that ignores all dissent and correction.

Ms Mohan was one of the first journalists hired by the BBC to report specifically on sexuality and gender. She is a World Service correspondent reporting primarily on global stories.

…

She was appointed alongside Ben Hunte, who was made “LGBT correspondent”. The pair have reported extensively on transgender issues, in numerous instances focusing on the transgender experience or detailing the abuse the community suffered.

Ms Mohan interviewed transgender soldiers banned from the US army, while Mr Hunte wrote about the “distressing” waits for children to have gender reassignment treatment at the controversial Tavistock gender clinic.

The Telegraph could find no examples of the pair having written articles that focused on people who had de-transitioned or expressed concerns around transgender women using female-only spaces.

I am all astonishment.